Guwahati: Day two of the 13th Senior Women’s National Boxing Championship, presented by Monnet Ispat and Energy Limited and the big names in the business marched into the quarter-final stage of the championship. Reigning Youth World and National Champion Sarjubala Devi (48kg) of Manipur and 2012 Asian Championship bronze medallist Pinky Jangra (51kg) of RSPB, in particular put up an exceptional display, as they breezed past their opponents into the round of eight.

In the light fly weight division, 19 year old boxing sensation, Sarjubala displayed her mastery in the noble art, as she pounded Preeti Soni of Madhaya Pradesh in a one sided contest. The multiple youth national champion dominated the bout with some power packed combinations and her nifty footwork. Soni was hapless against the variety that Sarjubala brought to the canvas; her punishing left hook once again proving to be the most potent weapon. She was leading 21-1 in the third round when the referee intervened to stop the contest.

“I am very happy with my performance so far, the first two bouts have been fairly easy, but the competition intensifies as we move ahead in the tournament. I am confident of retaining the national title this year and hopefully will be able to do just that”, expressed Sarjubala after her bout. In the quarters she takes on National Games bronze medallist A Punyavathi of Andhra Pradesh who would be looking to avenge her quarter-final loss at the 2011 senior nationals.

Pinky too was in sublime touch as she defeated Daljeet Kaur of Punjab. The 2011 Arafura Games gold medallist, representing the Railways team this year, made a strong start putting the Punjab boxer on the back foot. A solid infighting game from Pinki did not allow Kaur to take any advantage of her height; by the end of the opening round she was leading 4-1. In the second, Daljeet tried to make a comeback, but the 22 year old kept building the pressure with her penetrating jabs.

She was leading 18-8 in the fourth round when the referee decided to spare Kaur of any further agony. In the next round she takes on two time former national champion Van Lal Duati, who beat Jyoti Kharayat of Uttarakhand to make her place in the quarters. Duati will have the edge as the two boxers lock horns on Tuesday, having beaten the Haryana girl in the previous two competitions they have met. Although in the selection trials for the 2012 Asian Championships Pinki got the better of Duati.

With Duati looking to regain the national title and Pinki gunning to bag her first Senior National gold medal all indications are for a cracking contest. “You can say she might have a statistical advantage over me and is a very experienced fighter, but I too have matured in my game and have defeated her in the Asian Championship selection trials. I have been training hard and hopefully will be able to win that elusive gold this year”, stated Pinki.

In the light weight division, silver medallist at the 2012 Asian Championship Monica Saun of Uttarakhand ousted Mamta Gurung in less than two minutes to make her place in the round of eight, where she faces off against Ankita Gagrta of Madhya Pradesh. Veteran boxer Preeti Beniwal of AIP too, trounced Lal Buat Saihi of Mizoram in what was an enthralling contest.

In the quarters the 24 year old takes on Priyanka Choudhary of the Railways team. Bronze medallist at the 2012 Asian Championship, Pooja Rani rummaged through local girl Alari Boro in what was a clinical display of boxing. The 21 year old packed some heavy artillery to which the novice boxer had no reply. In the end she went on to make her place in the next round with a 26-5 win on points.

By Indian Sports News Network